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F1 Imola GP: Norris leads McLaren 1-2 in final practice from Verstappen

Lando Norris has kept McLaren's clean sheet intact atop the Imola leaderboard in Saturday's third practice session for F1's Emilia-Romagna Grand Prix.

Norris headed McLaren team-mate Oscar Piastri with Red Bull's world champion Max Verstappen in third.

Amid searing track temperatures in Imola few teams were in a rush to head out early.

Lewis Hamilton briefly headed the early running before being demoted by Piastri and then Verstappen. Racing Bulls' Isack Hadjar also enjoyed a brief moment in the lead as the track grip ramped up.

By the halfway point most of the medium-tyre running was coming to an end with Verstappen leading the way courtesy of a 1m15.078s.

Teams then switched to qualifying simulations on softs, using Pirelli's new C6 compound.

Initially, Norris was the only driver to improve on Verstappen's medium-shod benchmark with a 1m154.897s, the first lap below the 1m15 barrier this weekend.

Oscar Piastri, McLaren, Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing (Photo by: Peter Fox / Getty Images)

The Briton's second push lap had to be abandoned after he understeered off at Tamburello, driving through the gravel trap. Team-mate Piastri clocked a 1m14.997s, exactly one tenth slower.

After initially not improving on his first soft-tyre run, losing time in the second and third sectors, Verstappen re-appeared in the final minutes of the one-hour session but again couldn't string a quicker lap together, ending the session 0.181s in arrears.

Aboard the Mercedes, rookie Andrea Kimi Antonelli took fourth just over half a second behind the McLaren, while team-mate George Russell had a less comfortable time with the ride quality of the Silver Arrow.

Charles Leclerc was fifth for Ferrari, while Carlos Sainz continued a promising start to the weekend for Williams in sixth. Hadjar eventually settled for seventh, with Russell, the second Williams of Alex Albon and the remaining Ferrari of Hamilton completing the top 10.

The session was completed without major incidents, barring an innocuous spin for RB's Liam Lawson in Tamburello.

Yuki Tsunoda was a low-key 17th after complaining of "zero grip" in the Red Bull, while series returnee Franco Colapinto settled for 18th aboard the Alpine.

Qualifying for Imola's Emilia-Romagna Grand Prix, set to be the last one at the classic Italian venue for the time being, will kick off at 4:00 pm local time.

F1 Imola GP - FP3 results

   
1
 - 
4
   
   
1
 - 
2
   
Cla Driver # Chassis Engine Laps Time Interval Tyres km/h
1 United Kingdom L. Norris McLaren 4 McLaren Mercedes 19

1'14.897

  S 235.956
2 Australia O. Piastri McLaren 81 McLaren Mercedes 19

+0.100

1'14.997

0.100 S 235.641
3 Netherlands M. Verstappen Red Bull Racing 1 Red Bull Red Bull 17

+0.181

1'15.078

0.081 M 235.387
4 Italy A. Antonelli Mercedes 12 Mercedes Mercedes 15

+0.502

1'15.399

0.321 S 234.385
5 Monaco C. Leclerc Ferrari 16 Ferrari Ferrari 26

+0.554

1'15.451

0.052 S 234.223
6 Spain C. Sainz Williams 55 Williams Mercedes 21

+0.560

1'15.457

0.006 S 234.204
7 France I. Hadjar RB 6 RB Honda 20

+0.611

1'15.508

0.051 M 234.046
8 United Kingdom G. Russell Mercedes 63 Mercedes Mercedes 14

+0.765

1'15.662

0.154 M 233.570
9 Thailand A. Albon Williams 23 Williams Mercedes 20

+0.835

1'15.732

0.070 M 233.354
10 United Kingdom L. Hamilton Ferrari 44 Ferrari Ferrari 25

+0.890

1'15.787

0.055 S 233.185
11 Spain F. Alonso Aston Martin Racing 14 Aston Martin Mercedes 18

+0.922

1'15.819

0.032 S 233.086
12 United Kingdom O. Bearman Haas F1 Team 87 Haas Ferrari 14

+1.047

1'15.944

0.125 S 232.703
13 Canada L. Stroll Aston Martin Racing 18 Aston Martin Mercedes 22

+1.078

1'15.975

0.031 S 232.608
14 New Zealand L. Lawson RB 30 RB Honda 21

+1.080

1'15.977

0.002 S 232.601
15 France P. Gasly Alpine 10 Alpine Renault 14

+1.093

1'15.990

0.013 S 232.562
16 Brazil G. Bortoleto Sauber 5 Sauber Ferrari 17

+1.149

1'16.046

0.056 S 232.390
17 Japan Y. Tsunoda Red Bull Racing 22 Red Bull Red Bull 14

+1.213

1'16.110

0.064 M 232.195
18 Argentina F. Colapinto Alpine 43 Alpine Renault 14

+1.313

1'16.210

0.100 S 231.890
19 Germany N. Hulkenberg Sauber 27 Sauber Ferrari 16

+1.341

1'16.238

0.028 S 231.805
20 France E. Ocon Haas F1 Team 31 Haas Ferrari 15

+1.490

1'16.387

0.149 S 231.353
In this article
Filip Cleeren
Formula 1
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